Sharing Concerns

I've been talking to friends and family about our trip, and it is interesting to hear what people's main concerns are regarding the trip.

Tyler's Concerns:

Taking the Kids Swimming - a very valid concern and one that I've been pondering since the beginning of this trip planning process. Since I won't have any help, it really would not be safe to take the 4 kids to the pool without a solid plan in place.

1. I have no problem with having the kids swim 'in shifts'. For instance, two sit out on the side and two swim, and then swap after a set amount of time.
2. If the pool is really busy, we simply won't go swimming right then.
3. Setting and enforcing boundaries will be the key to swimming at the beach. I haven't completely tossed out the idea of tying a 30' length of rope to each of their ankles so that I can keep track of all of them at once at the beach. We'll see how it goes - take this one as it comes since I don't know how busy it will be and what I'll feel comfortable letting them do.

Staying Safe in the Tent - another scary but valid concern. I'm glad someone is thinking proactivley about this. I'm putting my head in the sand about it and just *assuming* that there are enough honest and friendly people around the campsites that if I scream then someone will come to my aid. Oh, and I will probably sleep with a claw hammer under my pillow ... and I'm not afraid to use it.

My Mother-In-Law's Concerns:

Getting Lost - I'm not too concerned about this one, actually. Have map ... will travel. I'm pretty good at reading the atlas, and I'm not afraid to ask for directions when needed. If we don't make it to where we are supposed to end up for the night, we'll find someplace else to stay. I'm flexible that way.

Getting Tired - This did cross my mind when planning the trip and it's actually one of the reasons the trip is so long. I had some specific places in mind that I wanted to see and experience, but I didn't want to be in the car for hours and hours each day. Because of this, I specifically made each day's drive an average of 5 hours long, and even that has an activity break in the middle. Most of the time, we'll arrive on one day, stay a second day, and then leave in the early morning of the third day. So I think it'll be ok.

My Mom's Concerns:

Getting Eaten By Bears - I will say that I had originally planned on camping for 2 nights in the boundaries of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park which is kind of in bear territory. I eventually did decide to switch that segment's camping site to a nearby KOA instead. I'll still keep all of the food in the van, but I do think that we'll be safer here instead. As much as I want to say this is a silly concern (just because it sounds funny: "You'll get eaten by bears!" "Ha, ha, ha! You're so silly!") I can't say that because I had the same concern.

My Concerns:

Running Out of Money - This is a huge fear of mine. I am working on building a moderate excess amount just in case something happens and I've either miscalculated or didn't think about something. Kind of like a trip emergency fund. If we get a flat tire it would be nice to just be able to buy a new one.

Losing a Kid - This is a big one, too. I'm not a kid-leash kind of person, but I would consider one of those metal framed back-packs if I thought I could find one that would fit me and one that Matthew would actually like. I tried one once at one of our consignment sales and he freaked out, big time. So I'll just stick with the stroller for now. I did have some cards made that have all of our emergency contact info on them and I'll put one in each kid's pocket in the morning so that if we get separated we'll at least have a chance of finding each other again.

The Car Breaking Down - Considering everything we went through to get it running, I have a fear that it will break down mid trip. Here's where that trip emergency fund comes into play again - if I need to rent a car to get back home, it would be nice to be able to do that. So I'm still selling clothes in order to build up that fund!

The Kids Hating the Trip - It would break my heart if I put all this planning and preparation into this trip for the kids and they are bored and whiny the whole time. I'm trying to add a lot of variety to the trip and I know how much they love to swim, so I'm hoping that they'll be ok. I really feel that this trip could be a great bonding experience for us. A "mom and kid" thing.

Crossing the Border Back into the US from Canada - Ugh. I hope I am able to get my passport either in the mail before I leave or having Tyler overnight it to me somewhere along the way. This is a big, lurking, looming fear.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that come immediately to mind. And I'm sure everything will be fine, but it would be best to have a plan of action for this kind of stuff, I think.